The doughnut burger, served with homemade chips. / Karen Miltner

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The Boardwalk Inn

Address: 48 Merchants St., Brockport. Phone: (585) 391-3712. Hours: Food is served 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Bar is open until 2 a.m. Good to know: Southwedge Colony at 503 South Ave. also serves a doughnut burger. I have not yet tried it.

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Global warming.

Miley Cyrus.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s pant size, before and after.

The environment and culture of extremes have become second nature to us that nothing, really, keeps us in shock and awe for very long.

So goes it with the doughnut burger, a food phenomenon that not that long had a gross-out index that was off the charts. Now it’s one of the more popular items at a Brockport establishment, which otherwise flies under the radar as your run-of-the-mill, reliable college town pub.

First, a little history. A few years back, Paula Deen claims she accidentally discovered the doughnut burger, and even wrote a recipe she calls the Lady’s Brunch Burger, where she puts a ground beef patty topped with a fried egg and bacon between two Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.

But most reputable sources point to a former Decatur, Ga., bar as the more likely birthplace of the doughnut burger. There it was called the Luther Burger after the late R&B singer Luther Vandross.

The Boardwalk Inn is an unadorned boxy building whose best visual feature is its patio view of the Erie Canal. Inside is an equally nondescript tavern with lots of televisions and a fireplace. Even on a bright and sunny day, the boozy cavern felt dark and hidden, the way bars are supposed to in the shadowy hours before happy hour.

The menu is what you would expect in a business that caters largely to college students: nachos, fried potato skins, quesadillas, chicken wings, barbecued ribs, fried mozzarella sticks. Even salads are simply vessels for more fried foods.

If you want to splurge on dinner, there are steaks, pasta, chicken French, prime rib.

The doughnut burger gets lost on The Boardwalk’s hearty (or heart-clogging) menu. I had to ask my waitress to point it out to me. It is also a little bit of a misnomer, as the doughnut burger actually includes two Dunkin’ Donuts glazed doughnuts. The top doughnut covers the half-pound patty, and the bottom doughnut soaks up its meaty juices. The kitchen goes rather light on the cheddar, but the two bacon strips are cooked crisply. I’m told the deal comes with lettuce, onion and tomato on the side, but mine did not, which I am not complaining about. Ketchup is a distraction, so I can only imagine that tomato and lettuce would be even more annoying.

This heathen’s estuary of fat, protein, sugar and salt is no doubt gratifying, but more subtle than expected. It was neither my most outrageous food experience, nor more my most cherished, though I did especially like that juice-soaked bottom doughnut.

The doughnut burger comes surrounded by a moat of chunky, house-made potato chips and a pickle, and costs $10. If you want to double up on burger, cheese and bacon, the tab is $13.

I am sure you’re wondering how I managed to walk out of the restaurant and get through the rest of my day. It was easier than you think. First, I split the burger with my lunch buddy Anne, who in turn shared some of her salad laden with fried Buffalo chicken tenders. Second, I went for a brisk walk about an hour later. I drank a lot of water, and woke up with no food hangover the next day.